Once Linie rejoined the group, Fíliya stopped at a high vantage point. From here, she could clearly see the entire panoramic view of the shipyard.
"What are you thinking about?" Solitär asked immediately upon noticing her state.
"Hmm... I'm just a little reluctant to part with it. After all, it is the place I've lived for so long. Who knows when I'll be back next time... Perhaps the house will have been emptied out by someone by then?"
Fíliya's sentimental expression dissolved rapidly, replaced once again by a relaxed demeanor as she finished her sentence with a joking tone.
"That won't happen. I can lay down a [Barrier of Misdirection]. It will make any humans who stray into this area instinctively feel uncomfortable, causing them to subconsciously unwilling to proceed further. That should be enough to... to hide our 'Home'."
Solitär spoke slowly.
"? Is that so? I didn't know you had such methods." Fíliya raised an eyebrow.
"Of course. I am a Greater Demon who has lived for a thousand years; I have plenty of tricks."
Solitär shrugged with a smile.
Only Miss Aura, standing to the side, seemed to have a strange stress reaction upon hearing the phrase 'plenty of tricks,' letting out a series of dry coughs.
"Ugh... Cough, cough, can we cut the chatter? We've been preparing for so long, let's just get moving already."
And so, urged on by Aura, the group set off once again.
The group walked for half a day. Although such a journey was hardly a burden for them, Miss Aura seemed unable to bear it halfway through, proposing the suggestion to 'hurry up and use Flight Magic.'
However, this suggestion was vetoed by Fíliya at the speed of light. After all, according to her, only keeping one's 'feet on the ground' could be considered true travel.
Thus, Aura could only grit her teeth and persist. Of course, she didn't actually find walking strenuous—she was, after all, a Greater Demon who had successfully scraped by for over five hundred years... She was simply used to being lazy.
"By the way, Fíliya, why did you make us suppress our mana to a level slightly lower than yours?" Aura, seemingly bored, struck up a conversation with Fíliya.
"Hmm?" Fíliya turned around, staring at her with a puzzled look. "Otherwise? What did you want to do?"
"Uh... I understand suppressing mana, but why couldn't it be suppressed to a level slightly higher than yours?" Aura stared back with curious, wide eyes.
"Fine then, you can suppress it to be higher than mine. But from now on, no matter what situation arises, you will be the one to step forward and negotiate with humans. How about that?"
Fíliya glared at Aura with an expression one would use when looking at a fool.
"?"
Aura reacted blankly for a few seconds before she belatedly understood Fíliya's intention. After all, 'strength reigns supreme' was a basic principle that even demons could easily understand.
Fíliya had specifically made herself and Solitär suppress their mana below Fíliya's. That way, if any unexpected situations occurred—such as needing to communicate with other humans—those humans would subconsciously perceive Fíliya as the leader. They would speak to Fíliya and ignore Aura and Solitär.
So it turned out... this was an act of 'taking responsibility' for the sake of herself and Solitär?
Aura instantly understood everything, a look of relief washing over her face.
"Mmm, not bad. As long as you try to think, you can still figure things out." Seeing this, Fíliya praised Aura slightly, thinking that this fellow wasn't too hopeless after all.
After another period of time, interrupted by a sudden event, the group was finally forced to take their first—break time.
Looking at the horde of monsters surrounding her group, even Fíliya felt a bit surprised. She briefly sized up these fellows. There were large lizard-type monsters, plant-type monsters, and even a hideous, strange snake monster over ten meters long with seven or eight eyes growing on its face.
Facing this large pile of formidable-looking monsters, Fíliya had only one thought in her mind:
Shocking! It's actually a balanced diet of meat and vegetables!
"Oh... is it because we suppressed our mana to a relatively weak level? Tsk, I said monsters don't have much in the way of brains." Fíliya shook her head with a light chuckle, instantly realizing why they had been targeted.
Under normal circumstances, emitting the aura of a [Greater Demon], no monster would dare approach them. But now, to disguise themselves as humans, Aura, Solitär, and even she herself had suppressed their mana to a low level—roughly that of ordinary adventurers. Consequently, they were quickly targeted by monsters.
"Just as well. Before we formally enter the human activity zone, let's have one last monster feast."
Fíliya made up her mind, then looked at one of the large lizards, shouting as if her eyes were glowing.
"Solitär, I want to eat that one! Tsk tsk, look at those claws, those thighs! The meat is so firm, the taste definitely won't be bad... And that snake, woah, that belly looks fresh and juicy at a glance!"
"Yes, yes... I'll cook it all for you." Solitär looked at Fíliya's gluttonous appearance and immediately revealed a smile that seemed almost doting.
The monsters in front of them seemed to finally sense something, beginning to retreat slightly toward the rear. It appeared that the moment Solitär's eyes revealed killing intent, she had leaked a sliver of aura belonging to a [Greater Demon].
But clearly, these prey that had delivered themselves to the door had no chance of survival.
After slaughtering all the monsters in two shakes of a lamb's tail, Fíliya's group set up a bonfire. Then, very extravagantly, they carved off the best cuts of meat from the monsters and handed them to Solitär to cook.
It wasn't until night fell, after they had enjoyed a delicious meal, that the group finally began to enjoy some leisurely time.
"Fíliya, why did you set the destination as [The Empire]? Although you gave a reason earlier, I still feel that wasn't the whole story," Solitär asked naturally while sitting beside Fíliya.
"Mmm, verifying the magic was indeed only a small objective... The reason I want to go to The Empire is, of course, to see what The Empire has become now."
"Hmm? That phrasing makes it sound like you're very familiar with The Empire."
"That's right, I am indeed very familiar with The Empire... But that's all in the past. Did I never mention that I once attended school in The Empire?" Fíliya turned to look at Solitär.
"You never said that." Solitär closed her eyes to think for a second, then opened them with absolute certainty.
"?! Shocking truth! To think I actually never mentioned it! Alright..."
Miss Fíliya put on a very shocked appearance, though it was unclear what exactly she was shocked about.
"Mmm, it was probably about eight years ago. Back then, I attended the [Magic School] in The Empire... I remember..."
Next, Fíliya briefly recounted her student days to Solitär. However, the story of her student days could be said to be completely lacking in excitement—even rather boring—so she only mentioned it slightly before quickly glossing over it.
"So, in reality, only eight years have passed? Why would you say things like 'want to see what The Empire has become'? There wouldn't be any changes in just eight years, right?"
Solitär's expression was full of curiosity.
"Look at you, at it again. That right there is typical 'long-lived species thinking.' Eight years is indeed the blink of an eye for you guys, but for the human world, it's enough for many things to happen... enough to, perhaps... drive a nation's policy into a rather dangerous extreme."
"Sounds like you already know something?" Seeing Fíliya speak like this, Solitär immediately understood her meaning.
"Well, judging from the news I've received, the situation over there is indeed not looking good. But for the time being, it has nothing to do with us... At least right now, I just want to properly enjoy this journey with you all."
Fíliya spoke casually, quickly ending the topic. She then pulled Solitär down to lie on the grass, looking up at the stars.
____
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